Accumulation of sleep loss among shift-working truck drivers

May 25, 2021Chronobiology international

Build-up of Sleep Loss in Truck Drivers Working Shifts

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Abstract

45% of long-haul truck drivers experienced accumulated sleep loss of >6 hours at least once during a two-week study.

Sleep time was closely aligned with self-reported sleep needs for most drivers.
The average accumulated sleep loss was -1.5 hours, with a significant reduction of 2.87 hours during morning shifts compared to day or evening shifts.
Night shifts did not show a difference in accumulated sleep loss related to shift timing.
During days off, drivers slept 1.13 hours more than their reported sleep needs, regardless of previous shift type.
Accumulated sleep loss was associated with increased sleepiness on duty, even after considering prior sleep within 24 hours.

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Sleep loss is known to contribute to road traffic accidents. Professional drivers are vulnerable to curtailment of sleep due to long driving bouts and shift work. To fill in the gap in the literature related to the buildup of sleep loss in irregular shift systems, we recorded the sleep and working hours of 47 shift-working long-haul truck drivers during a two-week period. Sleep (time in bed) was verified by actigraphy and sleep logs. Sleepiness was measured using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Individual sleep need was based on self-assessments. We examined the accumulated sleep versus self-reported sleep need across the study period, using midnights as points of observation, and the accumulated sleep loss within 72 h prior to shift end (sleep versus need, SVN). Across the study period, the drivers' sleep was close to their self-reported sleep need, but 45% of the drivers showed accumulated sleep loss of >6 h at least once. SVNaveraged -1.5 h and was 2.87 h shorter in connection with morning shifts compared to day or evening shifts. Night shifts showed no such difference. During days off, sleep exceeded sleep need by 1.13 h and was not dependent on the type of preceding work shift. SVNshowed small-to-medium negative associations with on-duty KSS even after accounting for sleep within the 24 h prior to the shift end. Our results show that long-haul truck drivers are exposed to severe levels of accumulated sleep loss while working irregular shifts, but they can catch up on their lost sleep, especially during days off. 72 72 72

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Accumulation of sleep loss among shift-working truck drivers

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